Day 7: transferred to ward B7

When I arrived today Simon looked really good although he hadn't slept all night. I think he may be afraid to sleep at night or maybe his body is just out of sync. He had torn out his nasal gastric tube for the fourth time, and this time, thankfully the doctor opted to try him without it. He had a visit from the speech therapist to assess many things, including his ability to swallow. If he can swallow then the nasal gastric tube can stay out. Simon not only swallowed, he gobbled a cup full of ice chips, four spoons of chocolate mousse, and later a three course meal of pureed meat and veg. He was starving! There is still some trouble with swallowing, water makes him gag, but this is an unbelievable start. The speech therapist also asked him to count to ten, he managed to count to five and all of the words were recognisable. This afternoon he was transferred to ward B7 which is a specialist stroke ward. He is in a room with three others, and was initially a bit confused by that. It can be stressful moving between wards. The specialist on sleep apnoiea came to see him (a respiratory consultant), and studied his breathing for about fifteen minutes. He reckoned that Simon was experiencing around three unusual patterns per minute, and he explained that each of these episodes causes the blood pressure to rise. If he has had this problem for a long time (he has always snored as long as I have known him) then it was a clear indicator of potential stroke. This is something that people, especially wives/girlfriends should be aware of.
The respiratory consultant has ordered a sleep study on him, and he was wired up for that this afternoon. They take all his essential readings while he is asleep and this is analysed for pattern and non-pattern. The consultant will then be able to tell us how we can best deal with this.
I took the laptop in and showed him the pictures from ICICTE also the picture of you all sending him a get well message. I couldn't get the movie to play, but he seemed to know what was going on.
Simon asked for his book, and wanted to hold it himself. I read over his shoulder with my finger underneath the words. We managed about two paragraphs before he drifted off.
Most popular today were the Pooh and Piglet soft toys that Asher and Mitch gave us as a wedding present. He had one in each hand as I left. He has some feeling in his right arm because he winced when someone took blood from him. I asked if it had hurt, he said yes, so I asked him to squeeze the nurses hand with his right. She said that she felt slight pressure. Later he gave Piglet a good squeeze. You cannot imagine how excited I am to see all of this unfolding. He has made so much progress in the space of one week.
Now he is on the proper stroke ward with all of the specialists, and specialist nursing, so we will be able to talk them about his care plan. My friend Helen, who runs the Hampstead hospital, came in again today and had a few words with his new ward sister. It is good to have this kind of support from inside the medical system. We aim to get him the best consultant.
It is possible that he may be able to have a shower soon and this will make him feel so good. To go without a shower or bath for one day would be unthinkable for Simon.
My sister, Margaret, and his mum, Shirley were both with me today to witness this progress. We felt like dancing.

Marian x